Online safety & content laws in Pakistan (2026)

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act 2025, signed into law on 29 January 2025, added Section 26A criminalising dissemination of 'false or fake information' causing fear, panic, or unrest — punishable by up to three years' imprisonment and PKR 2 million fine — alongside tightened provisions on cyber harassment, defamation, and hate speech.

PECA 2025 created the Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority (SMPRA), formally established in March 2026 with Ayaz Shaukat as founding chairman. SMPRA has powers to register platforms, order content removal or geo-blocking, and impose penalties on platforms that do not comply; all domestic and international social media platforms must register.

Section 13 of the amended PECA obliges social media platforms to monitor, report, and remove user-generated content that violates Pakistani law. Non-compliant platforms face partial or full blocking until compliance is achieved. Platforms must also appoint local representatives and establish local offices.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority retains broad authority to block websites and services. From December 2025 it began blocking major unregistered VPN services (Proton VPN, NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark, Cloudflare WARP) under Class Value Added Services (CVAS-Data) licensing rules enforced from November 2025; five local VPN providers received the first licences.

The Senate introduced the Social Media Age Restriction Bill 2025, modelled on Australia's under-16 ban, which would have required age-verification and barred minors from social media. Following widespread stakeholder objections it was withdrawn in August 2025; a revised bill with a lower age threshold and reduced penalties was expected but had not been re-introduced as of mid-2026.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Pakistan's National Commission for Human Rights have criticised the PECA 2025 amendments as vague and overbroad, warning that provisions on 'fake news' and expanded regulatory powers will chill press freedom and political dissent, noting the law was passed without meaningful stakeholder consultation.